While Hamin was causing a ruckus, booking the entire PC room, Sihyun pulled out a chair and sat down, casting unfamiliar eyes on the computer. He had researched data before but had never come to play games.
"So, what have you guys been up to until now?"
It was Hamin's first time at the PC room and Sihyun's first time playing games, prompting Hamin to ask, startled. When the conversation shifted to explaining the game, Haewoon stepped up as the teacher.
Even though they expected a high-end watch or a popular game, the game the Four Kings chose was a surprising horror game involving killers and survivors.
"There are five spots. What do we do about the fifth?"
"I'll teach Sihyun and Haru, so if someone drops out, it's still five."
"Yeah."
Casually, Hamin put on his headset. Seeing Sihyun wearing one, Haewoon cheerfully explained the game rules. Essentially, it involved surviving the killer by operating generators and escaping. As Sihyun nodded along to the instructions, Hamin's sudden comment caught him off guard.
"Sihyun might cry today."
Hamin's comment, out of the blue, sparked a competitive fire in Sihyun. With a slight smirk, he seemed to have a stubborn determination.
"You won't know until you try."
"Fine."
Sihyun, annoyed by Hamin's dismissive attitude towards beginners, gestured to Haewoon, who was still with them.
"Okay, you go help Haru instead."
"Huh? You don't need me?"
"I explained everything. You'll get it after a few rounds."
"Um... okay!"
With a bright answer, Haewoon nodded and turned to Haru to teach him the game. After playing a few practice rounds, Sihyun started understanding the game's rules. Wanting to improve, he eagerly awaited the proposed evening challenge by Hamin to see who could score more kills in the game.
As the game began with grand sounds, Geonu, as the killer, started moving Sihyun's character.
Hamin, who had claimed to be good, managed to distract the killer effectively, allowing all survivors except himself to escape in just seven minutes, despite having all five generators running.
But from the second round, when Seowoo became the killer, the game became challenging. Seowoo, the most skilled among the four, managed to catch and hang Hamin on the hook, which made him stick around until she died.
In the end, after struggling with the remaining three, only Haru managed to escape through sheer luck. It was Sihyun's turn to play the killer in the third round.
He secretly hoped for a turnaround, but in front of the experienced players, Sihyun could only manage to catch Geonu, hiding in a cabinet, succeeding with one kill. Even receiving praise for the sound play felt like a bonus.
And when Haru became the killer in the fourth round, it was a brutal match. Haru immediately executed the survivors, utilizing an item instead of skills, claiming three out of four lives in no time.
Though Sihyun thought he had some talent for the game, witnessing Haru's first killer play left him speechless. It seemed Haru's in-game class truly came into play.
With Geonu at 1 kill, Seowoo at 3 kills, Sihyun at 1 kill, and Haru at 4 kills, the last killer was Hamin. Starting a new round, Sihyun unknowingly clenched his fists on the keyboard. While losing previously had been fine, this time it felt different.
He wanted to see Hamin's face contort in frustration at least. Determined, Sihyun stared at the game loading screen as the familiar background music played. His character moved cautiously.
***
"Wow, succeeded again?"
For the third time, Sihyun managed to escape against a 4% chance after being hooked, infuriating Hamin, who slammed the keyboard. Hamin cursed, asking if this was even a game. Amidst Hamin's grumbling, Sihyun, who had not only won the last two games against Hamin but also managed to win the previous ones, took off his headset.
1 kill. 0 kills, 0 kills.
A total of 1 kill.
Even after two more rounds, Hamin's kill count remained unchanged.
Luck might have played a bigger role than skill, but what could be done? Luck was a skill in its own right.
"What are you going to do, Hamin? You spent a lot today."
I might cry.
The first round, with help from Seowoo and Geonu, the second round, with Haru finding the key to unlock the emergency exit, and the third round, where everyone escaped and Sihyun, escaping the hook, saw the emergency exit open before him.
And amid intermittent psychological warfare, winning every mind game and luck-driven victory, Sihyun, who had won against Hamin purely through mental strategy and luck, stared at a crumbling Hamin.
"I won, didn't I?"
"Let's play again."
"Are you so upset because you couldn't win?"
"Is it because the escape probability isn't 4% but more like 400%?"
At this point, it seemed luck was the class itself. Shrugging off Hamin's teasing, Sihyun got up from his seat. With three consecutive wins against Hamin and the day darkening, it was time to go in for dinner.
"Let's go now. Someone lost the bet."
"Yes! Free meal!"
"Why do you act like it's rare to get a free meal?"
As Hamin grumbled and stood up, the others followed suit. Looking at Haru, who was still looking at the dimming monitor, Sihyun approached him. Casually grabbing his sleeve, Haru's red eyes turned towards him.
"How was it, fun enough?"
"…Yeah."
"Then I'm relieved. It was a bit scary when you were in assassin class."
Maybe it was because of his class being in assassination, but Haru was a natural at playing the assassin. Hanging effortlessly on the hook with an indifferent expression, going straight for execution, if that wasn't chilling, it would be a lie.
Sihyun, patting Haru's head almost as a way of acknowledging his skill, stopped abruptly. Sensing he should refrain from such actions, he subtly lowered his hand, but abruptly, Haru grabbed it.
"Haru?"
"Ah..."
Haru sighed, seemingly unaware of his own actions. Yet, he didn't let go of Sihyun's hand, staring at him, reminiscent of a large dog.
It was Geonu who held the white flag.
Caught in the gaze, Sihyun resumed patting Haru, causing him to blink slowly. Then, as he lowered their joined hands, Sihyun felt a brief touch on Haru's cheek, making him flinch involuntarily.
Exiting the PC room after various conversations over the dinner Hamin bought them, the sun had already set. Haewoon, energized by the outing, suggested singing at the karaoke. Barely managing to stop Haewoon, they entered the dorm room 207, finding four boys lazing on the beds.
It was an outing right after the end of month evaluations, meant to relax. They had only planned to grab a quick bite.
Sihyun, initially lying lazily on the bed, found no one getting up even after ten minutes of waiting.
Usually, someone had to kick start these things.
"I'll shower first."
"Wanna shower together?"
"...."
"Your stare is scary, Sihyun."
Sihyun, looking at Haewoon's absurd comment with a stern gaze, picked up his towel and clothes without a word.
After showering, Sihyun dried his hair and lazily lay back on the bed again. As he pushed the remaining people onto the bed and directed them towards the bathroom, he pulled the blanket over himself. Exhaustion hit him belatedly. Sleep crawled over his body. Amid his contemplation of whether it had been a reasonably good day, he dozed off quickly.
***
Having gone through the end-of-month evaluations once and a lively weekend, the start of the week felt oddly serene. Donning the familiar school uniform, attending routine classes, and practicing familiar training sessions, there was nothing particularly special.
Except for the random request from Geonwoo, a tanker, to teach him healing—aside from that, nothing much happened. Given the difference in their classes, Sihyun naturally declined his request.
So, a week passed.
The only accomplishment during this time was an increase in proficiency, enabling Sihyun to use one more recovery skill.
During lunchtime, lying face down on his desk, claiming stomach discomfort as an excuse, Sihyun turned his head to gaze at the sky dotted with clouds. Absentmindedly observing this sight, someone approached and gently pushed his hair behind his ear. It was a touch so delicate that even without turning, he could guess who it was.
"Food."
"Not hungry."
There was a lightheartedness in the voice's nonchalant reply. Sihyun half-heartedly turned, half-filled with curiosity.
"You smile whenever you see me."
"Do I?"
"Yeah."
From the beginning till now, it had been all smiles. Although he was generally known to be smiling, when facing each other, Sihyun couldn't deny that his smile became particularly vibrant. Likewise, Seowoo didn't deny this fact.
"You seem happy just seeing me."
"...."
A teasing tone escaped Seowoo's lips. Unwilling to respond in a way that might seem odd, Sihyun stayed silent. Observing this, Seowoo chuckled softly again. It was a gentle laughter that tickled the ears, discomforting yet oddly comforting silence.
As time passed in this tranquil silence, when the lunch break was halfway through, and the minute hand reached 8, the calm silence was broken.
"We have midterms in two weeks!"
With a bang, Haewoon entered the room, startling Sihyun, who had been lying on his desk.
"What?"
Furrowing his brows, Sihyun glanced at the calendar, and Haewoon circled the 22nd in red. Looking at the word 'midterms' written beneath the number in red ink, Sihyun stared at it.
Although they had taken the end-of-month evaluations last week, another exam already?
While he hadn't been expecting anything special lately,
He hadn't wished for an exam either.
Thank you for reading this far! You can access more chapters from HERE by joining my Patreon community. You'll gain exclusive early access to the COMPLETE NOVEL.
As a member of my Patreon community, here is what you'll get:
For $5
- Early access to 100s of chapters before they go public.
- You also get access to all the novels I'm translating, you can find them here HERE.
- Your name will be featured on the "Wall of Gratitude".
- The power to vote on which novel I translate next.
- You Get Ad-free Chapters.
For $10
- You get to suggest a Novel for me to translate.
- You get access to Digital art.
- Your name featured on the "Wall of Gratitude" (in gold).
For $20
- You get to recommend a Novel and I will immediately start translating it.
- Your name featured on the "Wall of Gratitude" (in blue).
Plus, you can Cancel your membership at any time.
Don't let this amazing opportunity slip through your fingers!
